Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Working Group (ATSIHWWG)
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Working Group (ATSIHWWG) is charged with the planning, implementation, coordination and monitoring of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce National Strategic Framework.
Key areas of interest to ATSIHWWG are to:
- Increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people working across all the health professions
- Improve the clarity of roles, regulation and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers as a key component of the health workforce, and improve vocational education and training sector support for training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers
- Address the role and development needs of other health workforce groups contributing to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
- Improve the effectiveness of training, recruitment and retention measures targeting both non-Indigenous Australian and Indigenous Australian health staff working within Aboriginal primary health services
- Include clear accountability for government programs to quantify and achieve these objectives and support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and people to drive the process.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce National Strategic Framework presents a five to ten year reform agenda to build a competent health workforce to address the health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Terms of Reference
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Working Group will:
- Develop and maintain a workplan, agreed by HWPC, which clearly identifies priorities and actions consistent with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce National Strategic Framework, and the national health workforce reform agenda.
- Develop timeframes and achievable targets and milestones for agreed priorities and actions identified in the workplan.
- Provide regular progress reports on the workplan to HWPC.
- Provide advice to HWPC on critical health workforce issues that impact on the health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
- Engage with education authorities to promote better integration of activity to emphasise:
- the links between education and sustainable health service delivery and
- education as the key pathway to building the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples working in health careers and through this better health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
- Contribute, through HWPC, to the AHMAC and Ministerial Council of Education, Employment and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) reform agenda.
- Engage with peak groups and stakeholders to promote understanding of health workforce issues as they impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and enlist their support to progress the workplan.
Strategic Framework
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Health Workforce
National Strategic
Framework (pdf, 74k)
Contact information
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